Conferences

On October 27, 2011, Foster Net Impact sent 55 students (including 1st & 2nd year full-time and evening) to the 19th National Net Impact Conference at the Oregon convention center in Portland. Net Impact is focused on helping to create a new generation of leaders who use their careers to tackle the world’s toughest problems. Net Impact members put their business skills to work for good throughout every sector. By doing so, they show the world that it’s possible to make a net impact that benefits not just the bottom line, but people and planet too. The conference is held over three days and brings students and professional together to tackle tough CSR and sustainability challenges, build their careers and professional networks, and participate in sessions that pushed boundaries and limits. This year the conference was focused on:
• Where creative problem solving and playful approaches can lead to serious solutions
• Where sustainable innovations were championed by those you least expect
• Where unlikely partnerships accelerate change

This was my second time attending the Net Impact Conference and each year I have left feeling inspired and refreshed to continue to pursue my personal belief that business is about mission and margin. As my idol Sally Jewel constantly reminds us, “you can’t have mission without margin and you can’t have margin without mission.” I am not specifically seeking a career in CSR or environmental sustainability, but someday CSR and environmental sustainability will not be silos within companies, but instead will be part of every employee’s job. To know and to understand the intricacies of the triple bottom line, in my opinion, is a competitive advantage and a valuable tool to have within any organization. My favorite panel that I attended was the “Connecting Consumers with Action… and your Brand.” With an increasing number of companies wanting to use their corporate citizenship work as a marketing tool, it’s no longer enough to just shout your message to the masses and hope someone hears you. In this session, they featured three companies (Nike, Levi Strauss and Recycle Bank) who have figured out how to successfully grab socially conscious consumers’ attention, engage them, and elicit a desired behavior that has a positive impact on the world—and on perceptions of their brands. For any marketing professional, this was both an inspiring and educational panel.

The Net Impact conference is such an amazing experience and beyond the conference itself it is a wonderful opportunity to spend some time and bond with your classmates who attend. While in Portland, many of us got to share amazing memories together including an awesome Peruvian dinner in order to celebrate the birthday of one our classmates, getting dressed up for Halloween and enjoying the local Portland bar scene, and traveling together by car and train. These are the moments I will remember years after I have finished the MBA.

If you would like to learn more about the Foster Net Impact chapter please visit here.

If you would like to learn more about what Net Impact is doing, including more about the 2012 Conference, please visit here.

Last weekend, I joined thirteen of my Foster classmates for an adrenaline-filled trip to Minneapolis for the 2009 NSHMBA National Conference & Career Expo. More than 300 corporate and academic sponsors that embrace diversity participated in the conference, which attracted an estimated 7,000 MBAs from around the world. From Deloitte to Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and American Express, attending companies attracted ambitious, smartly dressed hoards. After an early morning pep talk with my new Foster friends, black coffee and standard hotel breakfast fare, I snapped on my nametag and got to (net)working. At this conference, on-the-spot interviews were the norm. If I stepped within a 6-foot radius of a company’s booth, I was fair game, and was prepared to answer any number of questions about my past experience, my academic credentials, my preferences, my opinions and my goals. At first, the speed and precision with which the recruiters, managers and others administered these questions was jolting (yet entirely appropriate for the setting). Recruiters readily answered questions about their respective companies, and I walked away with quality contacts for follow-up.

With seven days of classes under my belt, the fact that I was participating in interviews for a potential internship in 2010 was almost unreal. Not only did I get an inside look at a wide range of companies and MBA recruiting practices up-front, but I had a chance to bond with my classmates. Over the three days, we talked about more than just school assignments, but what our hopes and dreams were for the future. The experience was truly invaluable!

About Inside the Foster MBA - A blog by University of Washington Foster School of Business students that gives you an inside look at life as an MBA student, whether through the Full-time (day) Program or Evening (night) MBA Program. What's it like as a student? How is family life affected? Networking opportunities? Global, entrepreneurial options? Internships and mentorships? It's all here.